Ninja Gaiden 2 to feature regenerative health, online content

Series producer Itagaki reveals that Ninja Gaiden 2 will be more accessible …

As pointed out in our very own forums, Ninja Gaiden2's lead designer Tomonobu Itagaki revealed during a series of recent interviews some fascinating gameplay changes that will appear in the upcoming title.

While speaking with GameTap, Itagaki revealed that while the game's notoriously high difficulty level will remain intact, it will also be much more accessible to less-experienced players. One of the ways this will be accomplished is through a regenerative health bar, similar to the one found in Halo. The game will also feature four levels of difficulty, including an all-new Path of the Acolyte mode, which will be "even easier, or more approachable than Ninja Dog difficulty in Ninja Gaiden Black," according to Itagaki. It seems as though he is taking a page out of Miyamoto's book by creating, as he explains, "something my wife could beat."

Then, while talking to ShackNews, Itagaki revealed that the game will have some crazy downloadable content. "We're definitely thinking about downloadable content. In the past, when I've said I've been thinking about something, there have been times when I haven't followed through. This time, you can rest assured that I'll follow through" he said, before explaining that "it'll be something that'll make you say, 'Whoa.'" Unfortunately, he failed to mention what that content might be and also refused to comment on the possibility of a demo in the near future.

Ninja Gaiden 2 is set to be released later this year on the Xbox 360, and will be the first truesequel to the franchise since 2004.